Reviews

We are over from the UK, and although in Whakatane, we managed to hook up with a tour from Whanganui. A really interesting group of people, good mix of ages, and backgrounds - plenty of farmers and teachers 🙂 We loved that we were looked after from the minute we arrived at Whanganui airport by a myriad of people. Friendly Air Chathams team, Margie our guide, Massive and Nikolai, our local guides, and then Toni and her team at Hotel Chathams. Pretty much everything was included and once we realised that the itinerary was just a guide, but really weather and tides etc really rule what you do and when, we chilled out and enjoyed everything that we saw (a lot) and the fabulous hopspitality and humour of every single person that we encountered. We even had an unscheduled trip to the races which was hilarious fun. Just the last two races - and no we didn’t win anything. Food was sensational - and so much variety. I ate the best mutton I have ever eaten, paua about 20 different ways (all delicious), whitebait, crayfish, blue cod, mutton bird, weka, ham, salads and more. A hidden secret I think - both the quality and quantity of the food and the skills of those who prepared it. We saw beautiful gardens (Admiral Gardens), historic houses (Helen’s stone house), and had lunches out alfresco. It was very moving to visit the Kopinga Marae and be welcomed so warmly. We were showered with goodies too. Overall I thought it was very good value for money and being on the tour opened doors to places and people you wouldn’t see otherwise. Recommended highly.